A JOB WELL DONE!
Whitestone librarian
congratulates kids
for reaching summer
reading goal
Whitestone Librarian Susan Scatena performs “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina to children from the Whitestone Reading Club who completed the challenge of reading
2,000 books over the summer. Courtesy of Queens Public Library
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Whitestone librarian Susan
Scatena’s annual themed
performances have become
a beloved tradition at the
library, encouraging children
to read and explore the
world.
Every year since 2006,
Scatena — who has a profound
love for reading — has
challenged an average of 300
children in the Whitestone
Reading Club to read at least
2,000 books over the summer.
If they reach the goal, she
does something special for
them, often drawing inspiration
for her stunts from wellknown
children’s books.
“I wanted to get the kids to
read and I remember talking
to one of the children’s supervisors
and said, ‘How could
we get kids to read?’” Scatena
said. “I would do anything to
get kids to read. I would sit
in Jell-O if it got kids to read
and that was my first challenge.
I challenged the kids to
read 2,000 books and they did
and I sat in Jell-O on the front
steps, while a kid sprayed my
hair purple.”
On Aug. 16, Scatena’s
team congratulated 159 kids
for completing the challenge
of reading 2,800 books over
the summer at the Whitestone
Branch Queens Library,
located at 151-10 14th Road.
This year, Scatena’s special
performance included
children dressed as monkeys
taking caps off her head
as her team read “Caps for
Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina.
“It had to be a book that
the kids are familiar with
that lends itself to a performance,”
Scatena said. “They
always ask me year round
what am I going to do next.”
In the past year, Scatena’s
acts included sitting in a tub
full of spaghetti covered
with sauce, reading a bedtime
story to a real bunny in
her pajamas, and doing the
chicken dance while dressed
in a chicken costume.
She has also kissed a
frog, held a 14-foot Burmese
python, and morphed from a
caterpillar into a butterfly.
“I have two big 3-gallon
jars on the desk next to me
and every time they read a
book they get a poker chip
to put in the jar. They like
seeing who’s reading more,
the girls or the boys. It gives
them a little incentive to
read more and gets them into
the library,” Scatena said.
Scatena, who joined the
Whitestone library in February
2002, said the importance
of reading helps to
expand children’s imaginations,
travel to different
places, and learn things that
they haven’t learned before.
“They have to learn there
are other places outside of
Whitestone — like France,
Canada, Mexico, about Africa,
to learn about all of
these different places so
they can figure out what’s
going to happen to them
when they’re 20 years old,”
Scatena said. “They’ll have
to pick a career, they have to
be able to use their imagination
in everything. It’s very
important.”
Scatena said she hopes to
continue the tradition for as
long as she can.
“I’m always trying to
think of something to do. I
talk to kids and someone suggested
being sprayed with
silly string, which was done
during the third year of the
performance,” Scatena said.
“It has to be safe, not cost
too much money, and we do
it on the steps of the library.
If anyone has a suggestion of
what they would like for me
to do, let me know.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
TIMESLEDGER,4 SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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